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| Justification is God's free and gracious act of imputing Christ's righteousness to the person when he is in a state of condemnation and death. Justification by faith is a fiction. |
This meme with the words of the late Mr R. C Sproul stirred a thought.
Without
a doubt, you have to say a hearty amen to this statement, "We are
righteous by virtue of God's imputing to us the righteousness of
Christ."
It
states the truth of the gospel. However, its necessary implication is
devastating to a popular reformed doctrine, sola fide, justification by faith
alone.
What
that statement is declaring, in other words, is simply this, Our justification
before God, that is, to be declared righteous by God, is NOT by faith alone
(man's act of believing) BUT by virtue of God's imputing to us the
righteousness of Christ.
And
when does that imputation take place?
The
popular protestant reformed folks insist it is when an UNjustified man believes,
then he is justified, i.e. justification is by faith alone.
A
simple problem with that is this, an UNjustified man is a man still in his
native state of condemnation and death; a man dead in trespasses and sins
cannot possibly believe.
Another
problem is simply this: it is the just shall live by faith, that is, it is the
justified ones that shall live by faith; faith is an effect of God's act of justifying the condemned..
One
theologian universally respected in his days for his theological soundness said
this:
"The
reason why any are justified IS NOT because they have faith; but the reason why
they have faith IS because they are justified." ~~ Dr John Gill, A Body of
Doctrinal Divinity.
The
protestant reformed folks insist the very opposite:
"The
reason why any are justified IS because they have faith; yes, the reason why
they are justified IS because they have faith."
Deformed
is probably a more honest designation.
